Generative Grammar

FOUNDATIONS IN GENERATIVE GRAMMARAny native speaker of a language can be said to know the grammar of his/her own language, they know how to form and interpret any expression. However, this grammatical knowledge is subconscious. Native speaker have grammatical competence in their native language. This means that they have tacit knowledge of the grammar of their own lang. We have to make a difference between competence (the fluent native speaker's tacit knowledge of his lang) and performance (what people actually say and understand, the use of the language). Criteria of adequacyBasically, the criteria of adequacy are 2: descriptive adequacy (universality) and explanatory adequacy. 1. A grammar is descriptively adequate if it correctly describes whether a sequence of words is or isn't grammatical and also correctly describes what interpretation(s) this sequence has. 1. 1. The goal of a descriptive linguist is to devise particular grammars of particular languages, while that of a theoret ical linguist is to devise a theory of grammar. This is a set of hypotheses about the nature of possible and impossible grammars of natural languages and about the inherent properties that natural langs do and don't possess.An adequate theory of grammar must satisfy the criterion of adequacy known as universality. This means that a theory of grammar must enable us to devise a descriptively adequate grammar for every natural lang. The main goal of Generative Grammar is to build a theory of Universal Grammar. 2. This theory of UG will not only list the universal properties of natural lang grammars, but also explain the relevant properties –i. e. why grammar have the properties they do. This requirement is referred to as explanatory adequacy. Language FacultyAccording to Chomsky, the most plausible explanation for uniformity and rapidity lies in that the course of acquisition is determined by a biologically endowed innate language faculty within the brain, which provides childre n with a genetically transmitted set of procedures for developing a grammar on the basis of their linguistic experience (the speech input they receive). The hypothesis that the course of lang acquisition is determined by an innate language faculty is known as the innateness hypothesis. The major tenets of this hypothesis are: 1. The innate language faculty is unique to humans. . All humans possess this ability of lang acquisition. 3. The uniformity character suggests that children have a genetic guidance in the task of building a grammar of their native lang. 4. Despite performance errors in the input, children acquire a competence grammar, which again points to the fact that the acquisition ability must be genetically determined. 5. Although no special care is taken to teach them, children acquire languages successfully, which again supports the genetic character of lang acquisition. Principles We have claimed that children have a genetically endowed language faculty.If so, what ar e the defining properties of the language faculty? The lang faculty must include a set of principles of Universal Grammar, in the sense that the lang faculty must be such as to allow the child to develop a grammar of any natural lang on the basis of a sufficient speech input. If these principles are universal their application in one language should reveal evidence of their application in other langs. The underlying rule to construct a particular structure in one language will be part of a general principle of UG. (1) a. Mary will tell me the truth. b. Will Mary tell me the truth? Move the second word in a sentence in front of the first word) (2) a. The girl in the corner will tell me the truth. b. *Girl the in the corner†¦.? | | |STRUCTURE DEPENDENCE PRINCIPLE | |All grammatical operations are structure-dependent. | To explain grammaticality and ungrammaticality we should rely on general principles such as the Structure Dependence Principle, although in each language this prin ciple will be turned into something more concrete:Move an auxiliary in front of a preceding noun expression which functions as its subject. This rule makes use of structural information which is subconsciously available to all humans, although people don't know what an auxiliary is. Also this rule accounts for the contrast in (3): (3) a. Mary told me the truth. b. *Told Mary the truth? as we have applied inversion to a non-auxiliary. A theory of grammar which posits that the internal structure of words, phrases and clauses in natural lang is determined by innate UG principles minimizes the burden of grammatical learning imposed on the child.This is quite important given the learnability criterion of adequacy for any theory of grammar. The UG theory accounts for the rapidity of the child's grammatical development by positing that there is a universal set of innately endowed grammatical principles which determine the nature of grammatical structure and the range of grammatical operati ons found in natural lang. Since these UG principles don't have to be learned, the UG theory minimizes the learning load placed on the child and as a consequence maximizes the learnability of natural language grammars. ParametersAlthough the lang faculty involves a set of UG principles, all aspects of the grammatical structure of language are not determined by innate gramm. principles. Otherwise all languages would have the same structure and there would not be any structural learning in lang acquisition. So although there are universal principles which control the overall structure of a lang, there are also language-particular aspects of grammatical struct which children have to learn as part of acquiring their native lang. Acquisition involves structural learning, which is limited to a set of parameters.Parameters are those aspects of grammatical structure which are subject to lang-particular variation. Examples of parameters: 1. Null subject parameter: languages which permit omis sion of the subject of a finite verb and langs that do not. (4) a. Maria come pasta. b. Come pasta. (5) a. Mary eats pasta. b. *Eats pasta. 2. Wh-parameter: languages which permit fronting of the wh-phrase or not. (6) a What do you think he will say? b. ?Que piensas que el dira? c. Ni xiangxin ta hui shuo shenme you think he will say whatEnglish and Spanish Wh-phrases move to the beginning of the interrogative clause, but Chinese Wh-phrase remains in situ. 3. Head position parameter: the relative positioning of heads with respect to their complements. Head-first languages and Head-last langs. (7) a. Close the door b. Moonul dadala. door close (8) a. desire for change. b. byunhwa-eadaehan kalmang change-for desire 4. Discourse/Agreement Prominence: Miyagawa (2005) claims that languages can be classified according to whether they are focus or agreement prominent.On the basis of his classification, there are languages which overtly instantiate the notion of topic (Korean or Japanese), there are also languages which put a special emphasis on agreement marking (English), but additionally there are languages which show both (Spanish). >>> Jimenez (2008, 2009) 9) a. Taroo-ga hon-o katta. Taro-NOM book-ACC bought ‘Taro bought a book’. b. Hon-o Taroo-ga katta. Book-ACC Taro-NOM bought ‘A book, Taro bought’. 10) a. Mary likes syntax. b. *Syntax Mary likes. (11) a.Susana corto los tulipanes. (S-V-O) Susana cutpast3sg the tulips ‘Susana cut the tulips. ’ b. Los tulipanes(,) los corto Susana. (O-cl-V-S) The tulips, CL3pl,masc cut Susana ‘The tulips, Susana cut’. Parameter-setting Parameters involve binary choices, so structural variation between langs is constrained. The only structural learning that children have to face is the task of setting the appropriate value for each of the relevant structural parameters >>>>> Metaphor of the switch in the up or down position.

Lascaux Cave Closed essays

Lascaux Cave Closed essays I think that they should keep the caves closed from public access. I believe that prehistoric caves with preserved art that starts to deteriorate due to human disturbances should be closed to preserve the findings for professionals and for future generations. The cave in Lascaux has wall art showing the animal life living around the artists. There are over 1500 pictures of animals and proof of wild life from centuries before. Humans are not depicted naturally; they were drawn more like stick figures. There are also historic treasures hidden for centuries found in the cave everywhere you look. This cave was found by accident and now gives meaning to historical evidence. The Rouffignac Cave, also known as The Cave of the Hundred Mammoths, is still open to the public, but can only be explored by electric train tours. The artwork is threatened by the same causes as the artwork in Lascaux Cave. This prehistoric art is at risk and the cave requires a critical equilibrium. Caves work as a great preservation spot for artifacts. Deterioration can come from natural causes, or animal or human disturbances. Alternate freezing and thawing causes scaling of the rock, or also a form of peeling. Modern day environment changes have caused severe weather causing peeling to occur more rapidly. Increased openings have caused more natural light into the caves, which increases the growth of mosses and other vegetation on the cave walls. Artificial lighting from light fixtures mounted on the cave walls, which causes damage to the cave walls and fades the pictures. If caves are open the air masses circulate more easily, also excess amounts of carbon dioxide would circulate from the air and visitors breath. Carbonic acid dissolves the limestone of the cave walls. Seepage of rainwater mixed with modern day thermal conditions causes calcite on the walls of the caves, which would cover the wall paint...

The Renaissance Period 1350 -1600 in italy Essay

The Renaissance Period 1350 -1600 in italy - Essay Example The Italy’s city-states transformed to commercial centres and unlike Europe, it never based its wealth on land but on capital and the power to lend. Politically, the nation was not as powerful as European counterparts were. However, their status as capital holders augmented growth and many nations came to them for loans. With no doubt, Renaissance Italy was principally an urban society where the city-states emerged as the centres of economic, social, and political life. There were new chances to enjoy world things as this was the time of restoration from the calamities of the 14th Century such as political disorder, economic recession, and black deaths. The major concern for human worth and individual potentiality gave rise to the new society ideal of achievements in various aspects of life. After severe upheavals of the 14th century, there was a recovery of European economy as there positive improvement in trade and manufacturing. Indeed, the Italians particularly the Venetians improved in their lifestyles, as there was expanded wealth of commerce. Throughout middle ages, the Italian society was grouped into three estates, the first or the clergy was grounded on spiritual beliefs, and secondly the nobility that based their belief that nobles offered justice and security for the society. The third category was comprised of inhabitants with peasants of the cities and towns. By 1500, the old, new, and noble that constituted of 2 and 3% of the population dominated the society holding imperative political posts and serving as kings and advisers. The new outlook of human beings began when Italians emphasized on individual ability. The Leon Battista Alberti philosophy â€Å"Men can do all things if they will† motivated many. It gave rise to human worth and individual potentiality to a new society ideal with many achievements. The family bond was the area where the mentioned philosophy was utilized. Parents regarded the need of arranged marriages for their

How to quit smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

How to quit smoking - Essay Example There are several methods that can help to quit smoking. Nicotine gum is one method that can help to quit smoking only when it is used to as a program to change the behavior. Nicotine gum can help to control cravings and also withdrawal symptom. It can help to double the rate of quitting. It can become hard for people to quit smoking when they are addicted towards it. Nicotine gum contains nicotine which makes people to addict towards smoking. Nicotine released after chewing nicotine gum helps to replace some of the nicotine that was stored during smoking cigarettes. Nicotine level in the gun is in less quantity that that of cigarettes. It can help to reduce withdrawal symptoms such as frustration, irritability, anger and anxiety (Krumhol, 2002). Nicotine gum helps to avoid Carbon monoxide and other harmful chemicals that acquired from smoking. Most smokers want to quit smoking but the addiction towards it makes difficult. Of course one needs good support to help them quit smoking (Goldberg, 2009). Nicotine gum is the first step that can help to quit smoking (Gansler, 2010). Ultimately it is up to the smoker to decide what is good for them. Smokers who are prepared to quit smoking must have this gum to control their urge to quit smoking (Brannon, 2013). The urge of s moking may evolve only when someone quit smoking. But people who want to quit smoking must be prepared to control their addiction. But if someone don’t plan for their urges then they are most likely to smoke again (Hales, 2008). Nicotine gums helps to remove cravings that are caused by smoking. People must have sufficient willpower to quit smoking. Nicotine gum is helpful when people are strongly tempted towards smoking (Carlson, 2004). Each puff of smoking cigarette emits 4700 different harmful chemical compounds. Information shows that are very fatal and every day millions of people die to smoking (Foody, 2007). In short smokers can get many types of diseases; one of

90 points Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

90 points - Assignment Example For instance, I will attempt to understand the cultural values of my clients when marketing the products of the firm in order to foster respect for the customs of my target clients. Similarly, I will apply the concept of environmental scanning to gather valuable information that can benefit the firm. For example, I will utilize both online and offline means to collect information about the trends in the competition in the market. The collected information will help the marketing team to devise comprehensive marketing tactics to acquire a competitive edge. In my role as a marketing representative, I will endeavor to understand the preferences and purchasing behavior of the customers. For example, I will conduct routine customer surveys to establish what products and services they would like my firm to improve. The surveys will assist the marketing team to capture the needs of the customers as contained in the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Similarly, the concept of relationship selling will be paramount in my marketing activities. I will apply the concept in creating a long-term relationship with the potential as well as existing customers who belong to different generations as I seek to satisfy their various

Stategic management (strategic thinking) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stategic management (strategic thinking) - Essay Example The notion of strategy holds its roots in military usage. According to Nickols, "In business, as in the military, strategy bridges the gap between policy and tactics. Together, strategy and tactics bridge the gap between ends and means" (2000, p. 1). Over the years, the definition of the word strategy has been interpreted in a variety of different ways by researchers and scholars. Nickols also claims that the concept of strategy consists of four rudimentary components: perspective, position, plan, and pattern. The official definition that he offers his readers after discussion the definitions proposed by others is that "Strategy is a term that refers to a complex web of thoughts, ideas, insights, experiences, goals, expertise, memories, perceptions, and expectations that provides general guidance for specific actions in pursuit of particular ends. Strategy is at once the course we chart, the journey we imagine and, at the same time, it is the course we steer, the trip we actually make" (2000, p. 1) Strategy can be difficult for a strategist because it often involves a lot of guesswork. No one can predict the future with full accuracy, so quite a few assumptions have to be made based on things such as past performance and experiences. Nonetheless, all strategies are based on goals, which mean managers have an ideal situation in mind to strive for, regardless of whether or not they know exactly how to get there. Strategy involves a lot of risk-taking, which also means that a lot of research has to be performed if it is to be as accurate as possible. Without a carefully made plan, an attempt at organizing a strategy can result in managers running around in circles, wasting money, and becoming quite frustrated (Nickols, 2000). Strategic decisions are made within an organization through a series of key steps. First of all, there is the communication stage where those with a vested interested gather together and exchange thoughts and ideas regarding a particular company's current situation versus where it could end up in the future. SWOT analyses are often conducted at this point. Once the desired end result has been determined, they are communicated continuously to those within the organization so that no one loses sight. Next, it is important that companies ensure a complete and thorough understanding of the desired end result through discussing issues related to it and gathering and observing feedback. One example of strategic decision making of this nature took place when Starbucks chose to redo their organizational structure around 2005, which is now relatively flat compared to the traditional organizational structure (Nickols, 2000). Strategic Thinking Mintzberg does an excellent job of providing advantages, disadvantages, facts, and folklores of strategic thinking in his literary works. Mintzberg claims that there are four myths regarding the job duties of a manager. First of all, people believe that managers tend to plan in a reflective manner, which is untrue since the often prefer to take action in a speedy fashion. Second, people tend to believe that managers are exempt from regular duties, but this is also untrue. Third, people tend to believe that managers always prefer concrete, paper evidence of information, when they in reality often prefer verbal

Perception of Leadership and Followership

Perception of Leadership and Followership Leadership and followership have the same coin but different face that we live by from the moment were born. Being on one of them does not mean youre just on that side, you can be a follower with your employer and a leader in your personal life. Both concepts have a broad meaning and cannot be adjusted into a short range or to a specific situation. Nevertheless, the relationship between them are endless and neither one of them can survive without the other. Moreover, whenever the leadership is setting an exemplary role, the follower will follow up exactly at the same level or at least the majority will do. Although, there is a correlation relationship between them, but it is always the leadership that has responsibilities to create reforms, expansions, and prosperity in the society. Furthermore, there is a very thin line between them and that line must be recognized by both side to ensure that commonsense balance is always present. For example, leaders sometimes forget to impose equ ality for all the followers under their responsibility due to the general system that has a limitation for them to spot that equality gap. Additionally, in this case, its better that a follower steps up to leadership and point out that gap and act accurately to close it by the right means. I feel that there is always a significant amount of useless area between leadership and followership that can be filled with enthusiasm, passion, and productivity. My family heritage and background have greatly influenced my perception of leadership in several ways. The experiences that you get in your early childhood days from the interactions that you have had with your family often re-emerges in your adult life interactions that you have with others including the interactions that you have in the business world. In that sense family becomes your first organization, and your family members become your first management team. It is your family life and upbringing that affects the ways in which the leaders respond to the pressures and the way they behave with their team members (Barry, 2015). My family upbringing was such that where I had many siblings and had many relatives with whom I used to interact quite often, which I believe has helped me develop my communication skills which I use as a leader also. The first time I realized my leadership potential was when I managed to finish my first big project in work much before the deadline and that project was a big deal to company performance and efficiency. Furthermore, the project was to transform hundreds of thousand paper data to electronic data which I was able to do with four members team and the timeline was two years and we finished it in just one year. As a result of my initiative, everything got sorted. There I was able to realize my leadership/influential skills. Values play a very crucial role in our lives. Besides taking decisions as per your values and philosophies, recognizing and understanding a given situation at your work place with respect to the values and philosophies of other team members is also very important. When an individual is able to establish a link between his or her own personal values with those of his or her employer, then a powerful connection is created (Anonson, 2014). Teaching can also be a way to shape the beliefs of a person regarding leadership. For example, The teacher who I can say had changed my life, and my views of leadership were my English teacher. When I was in 6th grade, there was a student in my class who was quite shy to speak up in the class, but Mr. Sultan (English teacher) showed faith in him and always encouraged him to speak even if he was wrong. And later on, that student became a very good spokesperson even at college level. At present concerning my professional work, I look up to my manager who is one of the executive, Mr. Abdullah as my role model for the most respective leader. The qualities that I admire about him are that he focusses on strength. He not just focusses on his own strengths or the strengths of the company, but also makes efforts to improve the strength of others in the organization as well. Besides this, he has got the qualities of trust. As an HR professional or line manager, HR Competencies will help me to become a better leader or follower and enhanced my team effectiveness. Earlier, before the development of leadership competencies, leadership was thought to be a task to be done only at the top level in the organization. Only the senior level people in the organization were able to take decisions and influence all in the organization (Shanafelt, 2015). Although, by the advancement of leadership competencies, it is now becoming an essential part in every level of the organization and not just by the upper-management. Leadership function that I was able to demonstrate while working with my team was being polite and friendly with my team members, and that gave me the advantage to have a better communication with them and to be opened to sort any misunderstanding that might happen. The Challenges and problems that I faced in my leadership were that though I was liked among my team members but due to this informal bonding, I lacked that respect that as a leader I should be getting and also people used to take my orders for granted. But as soon as I face this problem, I started working on the ways to overcome it. And for that purpose, I rather than encouraging informal communications, started taking up weekly formal meetings with all members. Race and gender also sometimes have an impact on leadership. When a female is given the position of a leader, many male team members refuse to follow her ideas. Also sometimes people do not cooperate with their leader on the basis of his nationality or caste. Ethics play a very important role in leadership. Sometimes leadership places employees in compromising positions which can result in dissatisfaction and thus can completely tarnish an organizations image and mission. Thus, leaders must take ethically correct decisions in the organization. On taking my self-assessment test, I got 37 points as a leader, which shows that I am a team player who enjoys working in the team. After my own experiences of working as a leader and a follower, I have noticed two dimensions of followership which are competency and relationship. Competency requires working well with others by analyzing them as a source of work. Whereas relationship requires building trust and improving communications. Whereas as a good leader, your strengths are being patient, confident, a role model and being polite to all. Using these strengths when your performing the leadership or followership role will enhance the reliability of your role and your part of any team. After assessing my own experiences, I can say that followers can either make or break the leaders by influencing the way the goals are achieved. Being a good follower means you take responsibility to back your leadership with any assistance they need to be on the right path and most importantly remained them if they lose their tracks. By being a good follower, you dont really have to be a sheep and follow blindly to the leader, but rather you must develop those skills of a good follower which will help you become a better leader (Derler, 2014). Thus, my future goals would include becoming a good follower to become a role model when following ethical leadership when it comes to being a leader. Thus, it can finally be concluded that followership is nothing but the mirror image of leadership and becoming a good follower will not let you down rather will help you in becoming a great leader. Also, leadership is inefficient without good followers. References Barry, T. R. (2015). Top 10 qualities of a project manager Anonson, J., Walker, M. E., Arries, E., Maposa, S., Telford, P., Berry, L. (2014). Qualities of exemplary nurse leaders: perspectives of frontline nurses. Journal of nursing management, 22(1), 127-136. Shanafelt, T. D., Gorringe, G., Menaker, R., Storz, K. A., Reeves, D., Buskirk, S. J., Swensen, S. J. (2015, April). Impact of organizational leadership on physician burnout and satisfaction. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 90, No. 4, pp. 432-440). Elsevier. D. (2015). Leaders in the Shadows: The Leadership Qualities of Municipal Chief Administrative Siegel, Officers. University of Toronto Press. Black, S. A. (2015). Qualities of effective leadership in higher education. Open Journal of Leadership, 4(02), 54. Derler, A., Weibler, J. (2014). The ideal employee: context and leaders implicit follower theories. Leadership Organization Development Journal, 35(5), 386-409. Bligh, M. C., Kohles, J. C. (2015). Approaching leadership with a follower focus.